Meet Our Faculty

Get to know our faculty members and find your new mentor! Explore our profile videos to hear about faculty interests, expertise, and roles in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. You’ll learn about their clinical training and experiences, unique research areas and labs, involvement with our clinic, and other program insights as you prepare for your exciting graduate school journey at the Arnold School of Public Health.

Meisam Arjmandi

Dr. Meisam Arjmandi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. He is the director of the Translational Auditory Neuroscience Lab which works to enhance our understanding of human communication and improve the quality of life for individuals with hearing impairments.

Beth Barnes

Dr. Beth Barnes is a Clinical Assistant Professor as well as Graduate Director in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Laura Droege

Dr. Laura Droege is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She works with patients in the USC Montgomery Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.

Caryn Melvin

Dr. Caryn Melvin is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Joanna Scoggins

Joanna Scoggins is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the University of South Carolina’s Communication Sciences and Disorders department, at the Arnold School of Public Health. In her role, she teaches and mentors graduate students in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP).

Erin Smolak

Erin Smolak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at USC. She is the director of the Child Language Outcomes and Disorders (CLOuD) Lab, and her research focuses on the development of language and cognition from toddlerhood to the early school years in typically developing children and children with language disorders.

Arnold School of Public Health